Student Scientists in Action

The Shell Creek Watershed project is a volunteer program during which high school students spend the summer wading through the creek and testing the water and soil for various factors that can contribute to erosion and water quality degradation.

The Shell Creek Watershed runs through the town of Newman Grove. The creek is an important water source for this agricultural community, and in recent years, farmers and local conservationists had noticed an increase in flooding, pollution and eroding. To better understand and potentially reverse these harmful changes, the town of Newman Grove relies on an unlikely group: a team of wader-clad, science-loving students from Newman Grove High School.

The Shell Creek Watershed project has evolved into a summertime volunteer program during which high school students spend the summer wading through the creek and testing the water and soil for various factors that can contribute to erosion and water quality degradation. Because the students essentially manage the program from top to bottom — training new students, collecting, testing and cataloging results, and then presenting results to the community — the program teaches them confidence and responsibility. Learn how their work on the Shell Creek Project has become a badge of honor for students and a project that makes the school and community proud.